Crypto Industry Plans Quantum Shift to Protect $2 Trillion as 2029 Migration Target Looms
Updated
Updated · Fortune · Aug 15
Crypto Industry Plans Quantum Shift to Protect $2 Trillion as 2029 Migration Target Looms
1 articles · Updated · Fortune · Aug 15
Summary
$2 trillion in digital assets secured by elliptic-curve cryptography may need an industry-wide migration to post-quantum systems before quantum computers can crack current protections.
Google researchers have suggested the resources needed to attack crypto cryptography may be lower than once thought, while executives say AI is accelerating quantum research.
Coinbase said bitcoin’s core network is largely safe for now and that the bigger near-term exposure sits at the wallet level, including large addresses and administrative keys.
A Binance cold wallet holding more than $10 billion and the key controlling USDT issuance were cited as potential high-value targets if quantum attacks become practical.
The harder challenge is coordination, not code: exchanges, custodians, wallet providers, developers and users must all migrate together, with Google pointing to 2029 and NIST already standardizing post-quantum algorithms.